Chapter 64
The humidity of the Es? Forest clung to my leathers as we made our final descent from the mountains into the trees.
We’d ridden a precarious route back to Sivy to shave off time, given that the capital was a straight downward ride from Ilyth?on.
Every time our horses’ hooves skittered against the rock or their feet slipped beside a sheer cliff, I feared we’d die before saving the Seers.
Thunder rumbled overhead, heralding the start of a late winter storm.
I turned my stallion in a tight circle and waited for Sylaira, Maelsar, and Lyriasthe to catch up as I oriented myself.
Kisst Caerelith had requested we meet near a waterfall at the base of the foothills before we rode to the palace.
Contacting him could have placed us in peril.
He could have run straight to my sister and revealed that we knew of her plans.
But he’d intervened on Maelsar’s behalf after the trial by light.
He was far kinder than my father had ever been.
And after what my mate had Seen, I was willing to risk requesting his aid.
A flash of light caught my attention, and I ripped my gaze overhead, finding Ilae swooping toward me.
Thank the Goddess.
Sylaira pulled her horse to a stop, and the two auravane landed on a low branch ahead of us. Maelsar and Lyriasthe caught our reins, watching over our prisoners while we snatched the message Ilae carried.
Sylaira cooed to the both of them, stroking their feathers while I unfurled the note. Ruby splattered it, and dread settled in my gut. Was Oshenai injured? Had Ishim discovered our plot?
My hands gave the barest shake as I wrenched the message open.
Vaeron,
Ishim died at the wall. The Demons are overrunning us. The army is in disarray. With how quickly we’re having to retreat, we’ll be in Sivy in a week. Send reinforcements.
Oshenai
The clipped, quick note sent a chill through me. He’d barely had a moment to reply to my message. Which meant that Stadiel and Iaoth were likely unaware of how the Demons were pushing the front closer and closer to Sivy.
We had to get to the palace—fast. I picked my head up, taking in our disheveled states. It would be believable that we’d sprinted away from the battles with our captives to return with word for the monarchs.
I hoped.
“What does it say?” Sylaira asked, her brows furrowing as she scoured my face.
“They’re in trouble. We need to act quickly,” I told her, blowing out a breath. “Come, we need to find the Kisst.”
“Follow,” she instructed our birds, who clicked and flapped their massive wings.
We raced back to the horses, and I shot Maelsar a grim expression.
We couldn’t talk, not with the High Priestess and her friend still in our company.
The two looked as terrible as the rest of us, hollow-eyed and ashen.
Even on separate horses, they leaned toward each other, like they could find a small comfort in their proximity.
Mounting again, we urged our exhausted horses onward, scanning for the small waterfall Maelsar’s father had designated as our meeting spot.
“There!” Lyriashe shouted, pointing into the distance.
A heartbeat later, the sound of trickling water reached my ears. Yet there was no sign of the Kisst.
Fuck. There was so much on the line and not enough time to wait around for him. Or a trap.
“Lyriasthe, you stay here,” I instructed.
Maelsar slid to the ground, joining Sylaira and me. The two Demons exchanged worried glances as Lyriasthe led them out of sight. We couldn’t risk Iaoth breaking into their memories and seeing this. If he showed, it would only place him in danger too.
The cool mist off the crashing waterfall was a welcome relief.
The shift from icy temperatures at the peaks to the humid heat of the forest in mere days was jarring.
I cupped my hands beneath the fresh water and took a long drink.
More I poured on the back of my neck, letting it trickle down my spine and cool me.
“Where is Sevren?” I asked Maelsar.
My second-in-command scanned the area again, but there was no movement among the massive trees and lush ferns.
The rustle of wings overhead snapped my attention upward, and I was spinning, sword scraping from its scabbard within a second. My mouth opened, preparing to deliver a Command.
“Wait!” Sylaira shouted, grabbing my arm.
From the rocks above, Kisst Caerelith floated down, his wings spread wide. With easy grace, he landed before us, cutting off access to the forest. His expression softened as he swept his gaze over his youngest son. “Maelsar.”
My friend strode forward, into the embrace of Sevren. “Father.”
“I’m so glad you’re alive,” he said, releasing his son.
Maelsar ground his molars, tearing his focus far into the cloud forest. “Saethir is dead, I think.”
The Kisst took a stumbling step back before catching himself. “What?”
“We don’t have time to explain everything now,” I said to him. “Not to be insensitive to your loss, Sevren.”
He turned his attention to me. “You ask for me to risk my life for you, and you won’t even offer me the decency of an explanation of what happened to my heir?”
“We don’t know for certain, Father,” Maelsar said, blowing out a long breath.
“But we do know that if we don’t stop Iaoth and Stadiel, we’re all next.” Sylaira strode forward, chin held high. “I have Seen more than that stone sucking the life out of the Seers.”
Sevren looked between the three of us, shoulders slumped inward. “I wish I had been braver all these years. Now, my silence has cost me a son.”
“Don’t let it cost you another,” Sylaira said, her tone gentler.
The Kisst tilted his head, studying her. “I found the rock from your vision. According to the servants’ whispers, it is a highly prized stone from the Fae realms. Somehow, it is able to store power to be wielded at a future date by its bearer.”
I gritted my teeth. Of course, Iaoth and Stadiel had spent hundreds, if not thousands of golden wings on such an object rather than funding the war they were so desperate to win.
I shouldn’t have expected anything different from them.
“We need to find it and destroy it before they can use it on the Seers. Or anyone.”
“With that, I agree. However…” Sevren trailed off, releasing a heavy sigh.
“What?” I questioned, irritation nipping at my nerves.
“The royal sentinels have orders to bind you on sight, Vaeron.”
The dark red inside me surged, screaming at me to let it free and wipe them all out before we reached the gates of Thalvireth. My nostrils flared as I fought against the power. Sylaira brushed against my mind, a subtle reminder that she was still with me.
Fucking Ishim. He must have sent a raven back to Sivy when we deserted him after Iskarya’s death.
“We have something my sister will want badly enough to hesitate,” I managed to get out.
A fat raindrop fell. Then another. And another. Until the downpour drove us beneath the sprawling limbs of an aged inga tree for protection.
“Are you certain?” Sevren asked, wiping his brow.
Maelsar and I shared a look. We needed to tell him the next part of our plan. Having an ally already in place would give us an edge—so long as our gamble paid off.
“Ishim is dead, and we need to draw Stadiel away from the palace to lead the army. He won’t trust me to do it.”
Sevren snorted at that. “No, he would not.”
“Once he’s gone, we will overpower my sister and her guards. With your support, we’ll install ourselves as rulers and have the nobles swear fealty to us.”
The Kisst went utterly still, save for his eyes flicking between his son and me. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
Lightning cracked the sky, illuminating the glen in purple.
“My mate’s safety comes before all else to me. And many Kisst and Herr would want to exploit her and kill me the moment a crown of silver rested on their heads.” I didn’t mention that it was because of the Demon blood I carried; my current list of crimes was more than enough.
“And once we’re in power, we will free the Seers,” Sylaira added quickly. “We want peace. We have a way to make that happen.”
Sevren shifted from foot to foot. “If I’m going to help you, you have to tell me what it is.”
“In our custody,” Maelsar started, holding his father’s gaze, “we have the Demons’ High Priestess.”
The Kisst mouth dropped open. Shaking his head, he recovered himself. “And what happens if Stadiel takes your head the moment he sees you inside his walls?”
“It is a risk I’m willing to take,” I replied.
“That didn’t answer my question.”
I wanted to fist my hair and yank. We didn’t have time for this. “If that happens, all is lost and you should run for the shores. The Demons will overrun Sivy, instead of the Angels flooding Uzhhorod as my mate originally stated. No one will be safe in our realm.”
Sevren remained silent for a long moment. “I understand, and I will help you. I suspect there is more than one head of house that would be amenable to a change in power as well. When the time comes, I will kneel.”
I almost sagged with relief.
“Thank you, Father,” Maelsar said, holding out his hand. They embraced one final time.
“I’ll go now and return through the east gate. Enter from the south while the sentinels are otherwise occupied.” He shook out his wings, dispelling the drops of water from them. “Goddess save you.”
And with that parting, he took to the weeping sky.
“Thank fuck he didn’t reveal anything to Iaoth.” Maelsar relaxed, tension ebbing from him.
“We have to ride fast to snatch our surreptitious entry.” Rain pattered against my scalp as I stepped out from beneath the protective canopy.
Sylaria twisted her fingers, casting a shield over us as we returned to the prisoners and Lyriasthe. Of course, it was raining. Though the storm might drive people inside and aid in our approach to the palace.
Lyriasthe sauntered up, meeting us just out of earshot of the females. “What happened?”
“They found the stone, but Stadiel must have heard we deserted from Ishim,” I ground out. “The sentinels have orders to bind me on sight.”
Maelsar smacked the smooth bark of the tree. “Fuck, it’s like they know we’re coming.”
“They do have an arsenal of Seers,” Sylaira murmured, color draining from her cheeks. “What if they’ve Seen Kiira too?”
In my haste, I hadn’t considered that the Goddess might show Iaoth’s captive Seers our moves. Because through my mate, it had seemed like She was directing our feet down a different path.
What if we’d been wrong all along?
Cold dread slithered down my spine. “If someone else has Seen us coming, that could be why they have orders.”
“I’ll use my Mirror on them. They won’t stop us,” Maelsar growled.
“Against all of them?” I shook my head. “I’m not sure it will be enough.”
“Then we work together. We do not let them take us. We’ve come too far to give up now,” he argued.
“We’re not giving up. We have to help the Seers before they all die!” Sylaira said, her fingers curling into fists. “The Goddess keeps showing me the way. We have to trust it.” Her eyes locked with mine, and I knew she’d read my thoughts.
“So we fly over the wall?” Maelsar questioned.
“We’ll have to carry the Demons. I’m not risking taking those silver shackles off of them and giving them access to any magic. Lyriasthe can cast an Illusion for us too.”
He nodded, lips pressed into a grim line. “Let’s hope my father can create a convincing distraction.”
“Then let’s go before a patrol sees us here and alters our plans.” I unsheathed a dagger from my thigh and handed it to my mate. “You will use this if needed. Today, we fight however we must. I am your sword and shield, but you must also be prepared to save yourself.”
I knew what I was asking of her. She’d been haunted for weeks after accidentally killing Helene. But the palace was not a place for pacifism—especially not now.
She lifted her chin in that defiant way that heated my blood. “I will.”
“Good. We have a monarch to kill.”